Shabu Sai is a Japanese steamboat buffet restaurant . It has currently two outlets , one at Causeway Point and the other at Orchard Central (OC) .

On 19 September 2013 , I visited the one at OC for lunch on my birthday in the afternoon . Reservations are strongly recommended to be made , as we did . When we arrived , there was barely a crowd , but as the time etched closer to the lunch period , the restaurant was packed . Because there were five of us , we took two tables . We also gotten the Free Flow drink at $1.99 which included the drink bar and soft serve ice-cream . Shabu Sai also offers seafood that is readily available like prawns , mussels and squid unlike some some other restaurants .

Each table entitles you to havetwo choices of soup bases . There are currently the choice of 7 soup bases including the new Spicy Miso which they said was rather popular . We had two tables and therefore could pick up to 4 different bases . I do not take overly spicy food and thus chose to stay on the ‘safe’ route with Tonkotsu Shoyu (which was Pork-based) / Sukiyaki (which was sweet) on one table and Tomato (which was a little sour but definitely tasty) /Spicy (different from Spicy Miso) on the other .

One may get meat (Chicken , Pork , Beef) from the staff as to avoid wastage and to maintain freshness as the plates of meat are kept in the refrigerator . Vegetables and other food items can be taken from the counters .

Left-Right : Tonkotsu Shoyu , Sukiyaki .

Top-Bottom : Tomato , Spicy

There are also kettles of hot water on each table to add to soups if one finds that it is too spicy/salty .

Top-Bottom : Chicken , Pork , Beef .

Meat is served upon request from staff members . They are thinly sliced and thus optimal for shabu shabu ; cooking fast and are bite-sized .

Top-Bottom : Salmon Don (two thin slices of salmon with some kind of flakes on top of rice) and Unagi Don (tiny pieces of unagi , tamago and cucumber served upon a bed of rice) . The salmon tastes nice although I would skip them as it felt like there was just too much rice .

Soft Served Ice Cream

Ice-cream is tasty though only comes in one flavour . It isn’t too sweet or too ‘fake’ tasting , more like froyo (frozen yogurt) than what comes in a tub . On the side , there are sprinkles , cereal , peanut bits and sauces (strawberry , chocolate , caramel) .

Verdict : I would totally visit the restaurant again . The staff were quite friendly and attentive as well as all smiles . The food were fresh and tasty ! Although I did wish there were maybe sashimi but that’s fine either way . The meat were served upon request and the soups were topped up rather promptly too when the staff noticed our soups going empty . I recommend the Ramen noodles , it has a peculiar peppery taste which I couldn’t have enough of ! I would have also loved if they served fruits or cakes . The only dessert available was the soft serve ice-cream , which I quite enjoyed . I only added the chocolate sauce and cereal , though both were sub-par . The cereal was left out in the bowl thus it became hard to bite and loss of crunch , and the chocolate sauce was ‘meh’ .

The seafood were also quite fresh , I especially loved the prawns . The minced chicken in bamboo pipes were decent , though they tasted heavily of ginger if you’re a fan of that .

Shabu Sai is a great place to hang out with the family and friends . Prices are pretty decent for the quality and type of food available , it is definitely worth your money . It was pretty packed for a weekday lunch , so I suppose for dinners and weekends , the crowd would be even heavier .

Tips :

Remember to make reservations if you are planning to visit during the lunch or dinner periods as the crowds get pretty heavy .

Add different ingredients like vegetables (mainly onions which I love) , mushrooms , eggs (this depends) to add flavour and depth to the soups .

Request several plates of meat at the start . It is better to order less than more as you might be too full to finish them as time passes .